A NORTH Wales rugby stalwart will be remembered tomorrow at a special match in aid of injured players.

Bangor prop and one-time captain Gwyn Roberts was just 45 when he died of a heart attack at his city home in May last year.

Now some of his club and playing pals are staging a memorial match as a tribute to the "likeable giant".

A bachelor, Gwyn was the youngest of three brothers who all played for Bangor. On Saturday a North Wales Under 25s team will take on a strong Llanelli semi-professional side at Bangor rugby club.

The match kicks off at 2.30pm and admission cost #3 with under 16s getting in for free. Special memorial programmes will also be on sale.

All the proceeds will be donated to the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust. Set up in 1972, it has handed out more than #1.5m to provide help, comfort and support for seriously injured players.

One of the match organisers, Alwyn Jones, said: "Gwyn was Bangor through and through and his involvement in the club went back to atime when he left school and became an apprentice joiner at the hydro electric scheme in Llanberis."

Gwyn's elder brother Dewi Roberts, of Glan Conwy, said: "If it had been possible to have cut Gwyn in half I am almost certain the words Bangor Rugby Club would have been written through his body like the rings of a tree.

"The analogy of a tree is most apt - for Gwyn was a big man both in body and personality - once seen, never forgotten and was always remembered.

"It was better to have Gwyn on your side rather than have him as an opponent. His involvement with the club extended beyond just playing.

"Along with another handful of Bangor stalwarts he helped to sustain the club through troubled times when its future was in doubt."

He added: "Gwyn was responsible for arranging a number of social events at the rugby club and many former players will recall memorable nights at the clubhouse in Caernarfon Road and Cae Milltir.

"His sole interest was to see Bangor succeed both off and on the field. There was no other motivation nor was there any desire for personal gain.

"He was a complex character but when it came to rugby it was Bangor first, Wales second and rugby after that. He was a true Bangor lad."